Three years ago about this time there were a good number of goldeneye duck on the marina at Glasson Dock. I think there were around fifty birds present and I remember having a good day with the camera. A few goldeneye had been reported recently so last week I went for a look.
Sure enough there were around a dozen or so goldeneye consisting mostly of males but a couple of females were also present. From time to time they would all make their way to the entrance to the Lancaster canal end of the marina and were busy diving for food which seems abundant in the vicinity of the retaining walls of the yacht basin. I visited on a couple of afternoons and enjoyed a couple of sessions with the camera.
On my first visit it was calm and the males were displaying to the females present and throwing their heads back making for interesting images. On the next visit it was very cold and windy and the goldeneye were surfing the waves and again provided some nice images.
The drakes in particular are handsome birds with bottle green heads and striking black and white plumage. This first post was on the calm day and next time I will post images from the my second visit and also show images of a male goosander present on the canal.
Thanks for looking in and despite today’s snow I hope Spring is not too far away.
Brian Rafferty
I am based in Preston. Lancashire. This central location enables me to travel easily to a wide variety of habitats in the North of England. I tend these days not to travel very far as I find that there is plenty to see not very far from home. On my own doorstep are a wonderful variety of habitats - natural woodlands, open fells and hill country, unspoilt river valleys and I have easy access to the delights of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. As you will see from my bird images much time is spent at the wonderful coastal sites forming part of Morecambe Bay and the Ribble Estuary e.g. Marshside and Leighton Moss. In recent years Digital Photography has taken over from Video and as time has moved on I have acquired more and more equipment - as you do!!
Leave a Reply